The fans are extremely quiet in idle mode and we measured 35 degrees Celsius. Under full load the GPU temperature in some games goes up to 78 degrees Celsius. The temperature is not too high, but once the fans kick in, the noise becomes immediately noticeable.

Temperature Gaming: Crysis 3 after 5 minutes

Temperature Gaming: Sleeping Dogs after 15 minutes

We should note the fans are not too loud, but if you are looking for silence you won’t find it here. The R9 280X OC WindForce is actually louder than the HD 7970 GHz reference Edtion.